It was impossible to watch the recent uprising in Egypt and not think of the Passover story. How ironic! Egyptian citizens in the year 2011 felt they were oppressed and enslaved by an authoritarian dictatorship. Perhaps their political oppression was not on a par with the ancient Pharaoh’s enslavement of our Israelite ancestors, but the Egyptians of today certainly felt the need to achieve freedom no less than we did over 3,000 years ago. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to the Megillah readers, Rak-n-Kol a capella group, Beth Ahavah Players and Young Friend Purim poets for contributing to a fun and funny Purim Saturday night! Here are 2 poems that were read by our Young Friends, Jen Simon Lento, Laurel Klein and Matt Adler. Read the rest of this entry »

To engage in the Visioning Initiative, comment on what you experienced this weekend (thoughts to jog your memory, below), or contact Catherine Fischer (cfischer@rodephshalom.org) to participate in a “Face to Face” conversation, or to sign up to be trained to initiate a Face to Face. Choose 1 of 2 training sessions: Wed., March 23, 12:30-2:00 pm (bring your own lunch) OR Thurs., March 24, 5:30-7:00 pm (snacks served).

Our experience with Rabbi Hoffman revealed that Judaism is about conversations. Reflect and comment on these moments (or others) from this weekend: Read the rest of this entry »

The leadership of Rodeph Shalom, along with synagogue transformation expert Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, has been engaged in conversations about what we envision for our congregation in the future. We would like for every RS individual or family to participate in some way in this initiative to ensure that our process is as inclusive as possible and reflects perspectives of our membership.

If you have wonderful, spiritual or funny Pesach (Passover) stories, share them here with a comment! If you are new to Passover observance, share the challenges and questions you face. Then, bring your reflections to our “Passover is Coming! Preparing the Haggadah and the Kitchen” conversation with Rabbi Bill Kuhn on Sunday, April 10 and 10:30am.

This past Friday at “Israel Conversations,” each table at Shabbat dinner engaged with a leader about a different Israel-related topic. Reflect on the discussion and, whether or not you attended, engage in the conversation here. Comment on your general perspectives about Israel or go to one of the following links for material that was discussed about specific areas of focus.

RS Blog is the official blog of Congregation Rodeph Shalom of Philadelphia. Rodeph Shalom is the Reform congregation in Center City Philadelphia and has been serving generations of families since 1795.